English Premier League giants Chelsea are reportedly planning to join their arch-rivals Manchester United in the pursuit to sign Barcelona midfielder and their top transfer target Frenkie de Jong.
The latest interest from Chelsea will present Manchester United with yet another significant obstacle in the pursuit of their top target. The Red Devils have been linked with him throughout the vast majority of the summer transfer window since their manager Erik ten Hag who coached Frenkie de Jong at Ajax became interested in reuniting with the Dutch midfielder.
Frenkie de Jong has been a great addition to the club since he joined the Spanish La Liga giants, but due to the Catalans’ dire financial circumstances, it was anticipated that they would be forced into a sale this summer. United is currently having difficulty closing the deal despite having agreed on a fee with Barcelona for the midfielder’s services.
A huge obstacle is the large amount of unpaid wages owed by the team, and De Jong does not appear to be all that interested in moving to Old Trafford. He has even resumed training with the La Liga team.
Now, United’s ambition of securing the services of the playmaker have suffered another frustrating setback because Chelsea are rumored to be in the race to sign the midfielder.
🚨 Breaking : In the last hours Chelsea have expressed firm interest in Frenkie De Jong, Barca knows Chelsea are preparing a formal proposal 💰 ( @relevo ) pic.twitter.com/c9cmY6UDd2
— Pys (@CFCPys) July 19, 2022
According to Spanish news outlet Relevo, his present employers Barcelona are aware that the Blues are putting together a formal offer for De Jong. The Premier League side have expressed interest during the last few hours, and a bid is anticipated to be submitted.
The new owner of Chelsea, Todd Boehly, has had a very busy summer and De Jong might be the next addition he would try to make before the summer transfer window elapse.
Newcomers Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, who arrived from Manchester City and Napoli, respectively, have already been officially announced.
Other reports claimed that after pursuing Jules Kounde’s services for more than a year, the Blues are still convinced that they can reach an agreement with Sevilla this summer. If Chelsea eventually signs Frenkie de Jong this summer then it would be a devastating blow to Man Utd’s summer aspirations to sign a prime midfielder.
With the addition of Christian Eriksen from Brentford and Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord this summer, the Red Devils have already secured two incoming moves.
Manchester United have also reached an agreement with Ajax to sign Lisandro Martinez for £57 million.
It’s unclear who the Red Devils will turn to if they lose the De Jong race to Chelsea. Since Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic left the club this summer, the Red Devils are still in critical need of top midfield additions even though they have landed Eriksen.
